Highlights of the 2018/19 Federal Budget

(Ottawa — March 2, 2018) The Liberal government delivered its third budget on February 27, 2018. It commits to significant investments in research and science, with historic increases to Tri-Council base funding for basic research.

It is a giant step on the road to getting science right, although it falls short of what was recommended by the Advisory Panel on Federal Support for Fundamental Research in its April 2017 final report.

This year’s budget contains positive measures to assist government and applied science, with new funding for laboratories and the National Research Council, and a more transparent and competitive process for federal support for priority-driven research initiatives.

The budget also announced small amounts of funding for the post-secondary education (PSE) sector to develop a national framework to address gender-based violence at post-secondary institutions and to support Métis students to attend PSE. As well, additional funding was announced to enable Aboriginal representatives to participate in international discussions on rights to traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, something CAUT has encouraged through its efforts on copyright.